Confraternity of our Lady of Lourdes

BLUE BELT LADIES

Have
you seen ladies at Transfi especially on first Saturdays, wearing white dress
with a blue belt (sash) around their waist and a medal hanging on their neck?
Yes, they are the members of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Lourdes (COLL)
founded by the former priest then Msgr. Jesus Romulo Rañadain 1999 and officially installed onFebruary 11, 2000, the Feast day of our Lady
of Lourdes.

This
so-called blue belt ladies started when Msgr. Ranada saw a meztiza- looking
lady in her early 60’s named Magdalena Tiangco attending a mass. After several
exchange of pleasantries, an idea (without the knowledge of others) to formally
organize the group. So there and the rest is history.

Through the years, COLL
in Transfi grew more. The group propagated a devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes by
bringing her image to different homes every Saturdayespecially if there is a sick person in the
family since the image stands for healing . Before moving the image to another
home, the group will give a prayer pamphlet and a blue rosary.

COLL
has its own mother church Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral in Retiro. It is being
called Arch Confraternity of Our Lady of Lourdes and they always attend the
quarterly meeting wherein they discuss various outreach programs headed by the
national chairman, Atty.Lourdes Lontoc-Cruz.